"Well, anyways. Those things go right for capes, searching them out to try and eliminate them. It's sort of a recorded phenomenon, and we get a lot of flak for it." Carlos continues.

"They tried moving all of the capes out of a city once, to see if that'd make it safe. Lasted three months before an endbringer sacked it anyways." Dennis supplies. "See, when there's no capes to fight? They just start wrecking things and killing people until capes show up to fight them."

"Right, so if one shows up, we go right for it and bring it down?" Makes sense.

"The second tier up are stranger. They're bigger and stronger, but they're territorial. Obviously if they show up downtown, we've got to kill them, but some?" Carlos shrugs.

"Like Pyroclasm, up in Yellowstone." Chris supplies. "Big ass exploding dragon. Easy enough to avoid that they still let people camp up there."

"Yeah, some are kind of safe to ignore, to a point." Carlos smiles, seeing my realization. "Ruby Emperor is a silikinetic, he controls sand, and has an aura that destroys water completely. He hangs out in death valley. There's literally no reason to go out and pick a fight like that."

"And not many capes that could. The plan probably won't fly. Not when they're more worried about Vigor." Dennis pipes up.

"And Vigor is?"

"A giant thing made of fungus. Every once in a while it gets up and slowly walks somewhere else in Africa, then lays down and sends out spores. Anything infected happily runs to join it or defend it, and eventually gets consumed. It's hell on the ecosystem, but it's slow enough that people can evacuate the villages it attacks weeks before it shows up." Chris explains. "They do want to get rid of it before all of Africa is mushroom country though."

"Well this is just a lovely little world I've wound up in, isn't it?" I muse.

"It is with you in it." Dennis laughs, giving me a comedic eyebrow waggle.

"Hey, Adel?" I look up, once more cursing my lack of awareness, even with my powers going. Sophia's by the door, in her civilian outfit. "I'm going to meet the girls at the mall... You up for some shopping?"

Shopping huh? A crowded mall, looking like this? And then there's that sleepover I'm invited to. I don't want to intrude but... "Yeah. That sounds fun. I need some proper clothing." The scrubs I've been given look like a prisoner's outfit, to me at least. I haven't asked what everyone else thinks I'm wearing.

* * *

Part 4

"Everyone, this is Adel." Sophia announces, gesturing towards me as I smile at the assembled group. I still feel like the odd girl out, to be honest, and not just because I'm green and scaley.

Madison skips forward and throws her arm around me, giving me a one-armed hug with her head on my shoulder. "It's great to meet you, again." She laughs. "I'm so glad you decided to come out with us."

"Yeah, well... I need new clothes." I shrug, brushing a lock of hair out of my face.

"Aww, she's shy." Emma teases lightly, grabbing my other arm.

"W-what? No I'm not." I protest weakly, though I can feel my face heating up. I wonder what color I blush?

"Sure you are. Taylor used to do the same thing, growing up. Whenever she was feeling nervous she'd look down and play with her hair." Emma explains, getting a bit of a giggle from the other girls. Taylor quickly falls in beside Emma as we move into the mall, and I notice, without moving my head, that the two of them interlock pinky fingers.

"Uh, so you aren't all worried that you'll be in danger by associating with me? I mean, I'm an obvious parahuman." I point out, trying to change the subject away from my social awkwardness.

"I don't mind." Madison shrugs, running her fingers along my arm. "Your scales feel so cool..."

At a glance, the young nympho is still radiating a low level of arousal, but she seems to be dealing with it quite well. I suppose she's had practice coping with it. Sophia's a little on edge, her gaze continuously sweeping across the crowds as Emma and Taylor pretty much lead the way. The two newly-mended best friends are well on their way to patching things up quickly, judging by the bond between them.

Turning my attention away from them, I instead look out at the crowds around us. There's plenty of people staring, a lot of whispered conversations that I only catch snippets of, and more than a few people taking pictures with their phones. It's to be expected, I suppose, but still...

More than that, the vast array of colors is almost overwhelming. There's such a variety of emotions in everyone present, from fear to curiosity to boredom and apathy, and the people who don't notice and stare are even more varied. A young couple here that's very much in love, a boy over there fuming with jealousy. It's really incredible how entertaining it is to just people watch with my powers.

And then things get ugly when I mentally start looking at health. There's no real floodgates to it, but the information isn't pretty at all. Sure, most of the people are rather healthy, but everywhere I look I can't help but pick up little bits of awful information.

The skateboarder over there has a crack in his tibia, probably recent.

That man has the beginning stages of emphysema from smoking.

The two girls by the fountain are addicted to painkillers.

That... Girl, I decide, noting her age, is pregnant.

None of it's any of my business, but I just can't help but notice. Is the world always such a bad place, with everyone around me always in pain or sick? Do people just not notice these things? That man has the flu, that woman has herpes, that kid has three cavities in his teeth. It's all so much, but people continue moving on their way.

I'm almost content to let them all go on with their business. It's not my place to butt in, really, and I'm rather certain I already look like an idiot for zoning out.

Right up until he walks into view. A man, 39 years old, with a son and daughter who are 8 and 6 years old, respectively. My heart seizes, and though I know immediately that I don't want to do it, that it'd be a horribly awkward and awful conversation to have, I know that I've got to. I've got super powers, and I've got to do the heroic thing.

I swallow thickly, and feel Madison's tight grip on my arm. The rest of the girls are looking at me with worry. "Um... I ah... I need to do something."

"You have that look, that you're about to do something stupid." Sophia states, giving me a level glare. "What is it?"

"It's not stupid, just... Just something I need to do. I'll be right back, okay?" I pull free of their grip, and move towards the crowd. People look on in a mixture of worry and awe, stepping out of my way as I head towards the family. The children are the first to notice, the girl looking up at me in wonder as the boy moves to protect her from possible harm. It's rather adorable. "Excuse me, sir?"

He stiffens, taking in my appearance as he pulls his children back. "Yes?"

"Ah... Do you mind if I have a word with you? It's rather important." He stares for a while, before nodding, stepping to the side but keeping an eye on his children. "I know you've no reason to believe me about anything, but... Well, there's no easy way to say this..."

"You're a cape, right? Here to give me some kind of warning from the future or something?" He guesses, looking skeptical.

"Not really. I can see people's general health, and well... You need to go to the hospital, as soon as you can. I'm afraid... You have cancer. Lymphoma. It's in its really early stages, so you probably feel fine but..."

"Cancer?" He pales, looking wobbly for a moment before I grab him and help him sit down on the edge of the fountain. His kids rush to his side, and he forces a smile for them.

"Please go get it checked out? For their sake?" I urge, trying to force myself to smile.

"I uh... Y-yeah. I'll do that. Thanks." He mumbles. "I should probably update my insurance first, I think." He laughs weakly.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I just need to make a few calls." He nods, looking back down at his kids. I use the moment to slip away, back to my new friends.

"What was that about?" Sophia asks, moving to the outside of the group as I scoot between them, keeping my head down for the moment.

"Just a warning I had to give." I sigh, trying to shake it off. I really hope this isn't all my powers are good for. The topic quickly changes, and we're urged into a clothing store a moment later. I'm a bit hopeless at picking out anything decent, so Emma and Madison quickly take over, along with a rather perplexed store assistant. Apparently they take matching clothing to my 'complexion' as a challenge.

The end result is a lot of skinny jeans, plenty of t-shirts and several pieces of fabric that can barely pass as 'underwear'. Everyone assures me they totally count, but I can't help the feeling I'm being punked.

I'm ushered off into the changing room with a pile of clothing half my size, with orders to try on everything, while Emma pushes Taylor around the store, claiming something about emergency fashion surgery. A few moments later, I'm no longer alone in the change room.

I give a small squeak of surprise as I drop my shirt, standing there in only a plain pair of cotton panties and a bra. Still unable to turn off my sight, I'm left looking at Sophia, as well as my own reflection. "Sheesh, you scared me." I smile weakly, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "I was half expecting Madison."

"She wanted to." The darker girl shrugs, leaning back against the door. "I told her it'd be a bit too forward."

"So uh... You here to help me change or something?" I guess, shifting around a bit under her gaze.

"Or something." She replies coolly. "About what you said earlier, that Taylor's innocent. That's true, right?"

She steps forwards, and I move back involuntarily, feeling the chill of the glass behind me on my shoulders. "It's true. She didn't rat out Madison."

She stares at me for a good long while, and I stare back directly into her eyes. There's something there, beneath the surface, not just her aura of confidence and dominance, but something else. A need, to be on top, to be safe and dominant. At the same time, there's a desire to be punished, stemming from some colossal guilt.

"Why do you feel so guilty?" She flinches as if struck, actually taking a step back. "I'm sorry, it just... It stands out to me. I wouldn't tell anyone else, I'm just really curious. You obviously care a lot about Madison, but you feel so much guilt towards her."

"I didn't rat her out." She snaps, crossing her arms. It doesn't escape my notice, at that point, how much more dressed she is than me. How her tear-away track pants cover her long athletic legs, how her t-shirt hangs over her bust.

"I know." I'm so glad I don't have to move my eyes to check her out. If anything, I'm probably the most qualified person in the world to ogle people. I can see every toned muscle in her body, watch the blood flow through her veins, watch in almost slow motion as she breathes in air and her breasts rise and fall.

"I shouldn't tell you, but... We're going to be partners right?" She sighs, closing her eyes. "Back when I got my powers... You know how most capes get their powers, right?"

"No, actually." No one had bothered to fill in that little detail.

"Well, it happens... It always happens on your worst day. One of those days where everything goes wrong, and the weight of life just makes you snap. Sometimes it's a slow break, sometimes it's one little unspeakable tragedy, but it always just sort of breaks us." She explains, trying to remove herself from the explanation. "If anything, I think you have it lucky. Case 53's are all monstrous on the outside. The rest of us? We're monsters on the inside, and I think that's worse."

I ponder her words, not trusting myself to say anything. That nagging feeling again, telling me that interrupting would be a bad thing. "I got my powers when I was younger. I got... I got grabbed by a monster, and it tried to have its way with me."

"Like Madison." I realize, causing her to grimace.

"Exactly like Madison." She grumbles, clenching her eyes shut tightly. "I used my powers to escape. To run away instead of trying to fight it. It couldn't catch me, so it went after someone else. Someone who couldn't run. I didn't find out until several years later what my cowardice had done."

I can't help myself, I step forwards and throw my arms around her in a tight hug. She tenses, remaining stiff and still as I listen to her heartbeat. "That's not your fault, you know. You were young."

"I was given a chance to be a hero, and I was a coward instead. It's my fault she's like that." Sophia replies through grit teeth. "How am I supposed to be forgiven for that?"

"Ask." It's such a simple answer, really. "Madison loves you, all of you. Even when she thought Taylor betrayed her, she never stopped loving her. She'll forgive you."

"I don't deserve it." She growls, pushing me back against the mirror. "You're not going to tell her, are you?"

Her eyes lock on mine as she somehow towers above me via sheer presence. She's intimidating, and I feel the faintest stirrings of actual primal fear as I look at her. She's so intense, so passionate, so... Aroused? There's something there in that gaze, flickering to life in her aura as she pins me to the wall.

"Answer me." She growls, grabbing my hair and pulling my head back, exposing my neck. It hurts a little, but just watching what it's doing to her is fascinating.

"What if I do?" I taunt, feeling her breath on my neck. She bites me, her teeth digging into my neck in a way far removed from how a lover would. Her tongue, warm and wet, strokes across the marks left behind, and I can feel her lips move down towards my collar bone.

"You won't." She states with certainty, one knee rising up between my legs as her hips pin me in place. I stifle a low groan as it rubs against me, and fail to resist the temptation to grind myself down on it. "Because, I know a secret of yours."

That taunt lingers in my ear, the warmth of her breath lasting long after she captures my mouth in a kiss. It's rough, passionate but not loving as her tongue invades my mouth. She pins my tongue quickly and moves to explore the rest, running along my teeth one by one, wresting and pinning my tongue each time it rises for a rematch.

All the while her knee works a wet spot in my cotton panties, a hand moving from pinning my arms to cupping my chest. Her nimble fingers slip under my bra, hiking it up and exposing my pale green breasts to the air. Her finger tips savor the unique texture of smooth scales on soft pillowy flesh as she squeezes and gropes, roughly digging her fingers in even as her palm rubs against my nipple.